


Fallen Angel

by szm



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 01:35:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4416062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/szm/pseuds/szm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Foggy has a secret too. Unfortunately Stick is the first to notice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fallen Angel

Matt met the ‘Nelson clan’, as Foggy called them, several times. Foggy either stayed with Matt or dragged him home for the holidays all through college, because ‘friends don’t let friends sit alone in a dorm room eating cheap noodles on Christmas, Matty’. More often than not Matt went with Foggy; at first because he felt too guilty keeping Foggy from his family, but after a few years he was genuinely in love with all the Nelsons, and looked forward to every time he got to stay with them.

Foggy’s family weren’t very religious, other than in the vague way most people are. Foggy used to come to Midnight Mass at Christmas time with Matt, but as far as Matt knew that was the only time he went to church. So maybe, in hindsight, it should have registered as odd that Foggy’s mom always called him ‘my angel’. Foggy had two older brothers and a younger sister, and Matt never heard her use pet names for them. Foggy was definitely closest to his Mom. They both fussed and worried over each other all the time. She once confided in Matt that it was hard when Foggy moved away to college. But she loved to see her angel fly. 

Nobody called Foggy ‘Franklin’, save for an elderly aunt who always regarded Foggy (and by extension Matt) with deep distrust. She called Foggy ‘Franklin’ like it was some kind of insult. When Matt asked Foggy about it he just laughed and told Matt he hadn’t quite found a ‘way in’ to Aunt Ruby yet. But that he was working on it.

Nobody disliked Foggy, at least not for long. He always managed to say the right thing, or do the right thing to make them start smiling. It always looked like an accident, an off the cuff remark or once falling headlong into a cake stand which made Marci laugh so hard she was nearly sick. She said afterwards that is was impossible to stay mad at someone covered in that much cake and cream. Two weeks later they were dating. But that was just Foggy, one of Matt’s girlfriends once called him ‘adorkably charming’ which Matt had to admit fitted well.

Maybe all these things should have been Matt’s first clue that there was something different about Foggy. As it was his first clue came from Stick. Which to be honest is never how you want to find out anything. 

They were at Matts apartment drinking beers on his couch to celebrate a good day of what Foggy called ‘quality lawyering’ when Matt heard the heartbeat on the roof. A heartbeat he knew well, moving into the apartment. He panicked a little, no time to get Foggy out. He’s never wanted Foggy and Stick to meet, he was almost convinced that they couldn’t actually exist in the same room, they were that different. Foggy must have noticed the change in Matt, as he stiffened and moved forward getting ready for a fight.

“Matt, what’s wrong,” asked Foggy nervously.

“I’ve got a visitor,” answered Matt. “An unwelcome one.”

“Is that any way to say hello?” asked Stick his cane tapping on the stairs as he descended. “I missed you too, kid.”

Matt stood, making sure he was between Stick and Foggy. “What do you want, Stick?” he asked bluntly.

“I need…” Stick suddenly stopped and tilted his head to the side. “What the hell is that thing doing here?” he asked anger and something like fear making his voice rough and his heartbeat speed.

“That’s my friend,” said Matt putting as much certainty into his voice as he could. A lot, because he was always certain of Foggy. “He has nothing to do with you.”

“Like hell,” spat Stick viciously. “He’s your _friend_? The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and a fallen angel? Fitting.”

Matt was going to tell Stick to get out, going to insist that Foggy was no such thing, but Foggy’s heartbeat jumped. Like he knew what Stick was talking about. Like it was true.

“Matt I…” started Foggy. But Stick didn’t let him finish. 

“Out of the way, Matt, final warning,” said Stick shifting into a fighting stance.

Matt stayed where he was, Stick would kill Foggy. Whatever was going on Matt wouldn’t allow that. Stick made the first move. Charging at Matt, when Matt moved it was into a blow to his torso, he deflected it and spun, knocking Stick to the side away from Foggy. The fight was fast and brutal, Stick never went easy on him, not even when Matt had been a kid, but this was a real fight. Matt could hear Foggy’s heartbeat and breathing patterns speed up even further. Smell the sweat on his friend, the sour tang that indicated stress and fear rather than heat causing it. Then suddenly it all just… stopped, no heartbeat, or breathing, nothing coming from Foggy but a sense of peace and warmth. Matt didn’t need to fight anymore, everything was fine. Stick had stopped too. 

“Leave this place,” said Foggy and it was Foggy’s voice but it sounded… more. More real, more present. Inescapable. 

Stick turned and left, Matt felt… at peace. Then it faded, quickly and leaving an emptiness behind. Foggy’s heartbeat was back, he rushed to support Matt as Matt felt his muscles give way. Matt pushed Foggy away and forced himself to stand on his own.

“You should sit,” said Foggy, and Matt could almost taste the nervousness in the air. “I don’t do that, not ever, normally at least. I think I might have overdone it. Your… Stick… might end up a very long way away. Sorry. I’m… sorry. You should sit, or lean at least. Maybe drink some water, I could get you water…”

“No,” said Matt, breaking into Foggy’s babble. “What the hell was that?”

“I thought you might kill each other, I couldn’t let anything happen to you because of me. I’m sorry. I really don’t do that, Matt. Honestly,” said Foggy, his voice was shaky and Matt could tell he was leaning heavily on the arm of the couch. Whatever had happened had taken a lot out of Foggy too. Matt felt himself take a step forward to help but he stopped. Foggy winced at the aborted gesture.

“What are you?” asked Matt.

“A fallen angel,” said Foggy, lowering himself into a chair and burying his head in his hands. When he raised it again Matt could smell unshed tears. “But I’m just Foggy, I never lied. I didn’t lie.”

“You didn’t exactly tell the truth!” exclaimed Matt. 

“I don’t know what I am!” shouted Foggy back. He took a deep breath and carried on. “All my life I keep running into people who call me a ‘fallen angel’. They usually look crazy and spit or cross themselves when they say it. And I can… tell people to do things, if I’m not careful. But I don’t. Matt, I don’t, I’ve never used that on you till just now. I swear.” 

Foggy was actually shaking now, and Matt felt his heart go out to his friend. He crossed the small space and wrapped his arms round Foggy. “You’re Foggy,” he said softly into Foggy’s ear. He felt Foggy slump against him, he smelt the salt of Foggy’s tears before he felt the wetness on his shoulder. He led them to the couch and they curled up on it together. Foggy felt warm, and Matt suddenly felt a peace come over him. 

Foggy jerked out of the hug. “Sorry, that’s reflexive. I haven’t done that in years…”

“What?” asked Matt.

Foggy chuckled sadly. “I’m… kinda… glowing. A bit. You really can’t tell?”

“You’re a bit warmer,” said Matt, laying his hand on Foggy’s arm. “And it feels… nice.” Nice was a horrible understatement. 

“I used to do it when I was a kid,” said Foggy, not making any move to shift Matt’s hand. “Mom said it made her eyes hurt.”

“Not really a problem for me,” chuckled Matt. He used the grip on Foggy’s arm to pull the other man back into to hug. “Stop wrecking my Foggy cuddle-time.”

Foggy chuckled a little sadly but let Matt rearrange him in his liking. Matt waited until Foggy was relaxed again to ask the rest of his questions.

“So you Mom knows?”

Foggy spoke quietly enough that _Matt_ had to strain to hear him. “Franklin Nelson died when he was 3 days old. Cot death. Mom said I turned up the next day and it was like, everyone had forgotten that Franklin had died. I kinda just… took his place. Mom said she’d prayed for an angel and gotten me. She’s awesome, and she loves me.”

Matt pressed a kiss to the top of Foggy’s head without really thinking about it.

“Apart from that, I was just normal,” continued Foggy. “I grew up like everyone else does. I have to be careful not to glow when I’m overwhelmed. Alcohol helps with that,” he scoffed. “And I don’t tell people what to do, or they do it. And I can’t do that to people, it’s not right.”

Matt wasn’t quite sure how to broach the next part but he needed to ask, or he’d always be thinking about it. “You could have stopped Fisk. At any time, you could have just told him to stop and he would have,” he asked carefully, keeping his voice as blank as he could.

“I don’t do that,” said Foggy his glow fading.

“Why not?” asked Matt, just as carefully. “People died, you could have stopped that.” He doesn’t mention Elena Cardenas or Ben Ulric. Although he knows Foggy would have heard those names anyway.

“I could stop you,” said Foggy softly. “I could make you give up being Daredevil. I could even make you happy about it.”

Matt felt his blood run cold at that pronouncement.

Foggy couldn’t look at him. “I even thought about it. But I don’t do that. Because it’s wrong. I can’t just deicide for everyone else. No-one should. And if I start… I don’t know that I could stop.”

Matt just held on tighter. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” said Foggy sadly. “I’m sorry I reacted so badly to your secret when I had a bigger one.”

Matt didn’t respond he just held on. He always knew Foggy was too good for this world.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is. An idea that wouldn't go away until I wrote it down...


End file.
